Archive for March, 2012

The country is embroiled from top to bottom in political debate surrounding an election destined to be vital to our future. At the heart of this constant debate is a struggling economy that is seeking to stand on what can only be described as shaky legs. Now this very large topic can cover areas as diverse as the price of oil and how to decrease it to the proper role of government in healthcare. The most basic government function in connection with most Americans however is taxes. Taxes are present in our everyday life, the effects painfully visible in the aptly named “gross” take-home pay. However, deceptively less visible is the effect of the corporate tax rate in our everyday life. Even though we may not have to fill out a special form come tax season, we all pay corporate taxes.

There are many ideas that our government does not yet fully grasp. Chief among them is the profit motive. Government seems to go out of its way to prove its ignorance of this basic business element. And when the discussion of corporate taxes rears its ugly head in the national discourse, politicians jump to prove that they are just as oblivious. Screaming about the top 1% or millionaire and billionaires, politicians demand higher taxes for those that succeed. While this rhetoric might meet political goals it serves as a depressive effect on commerce. The fact that corporations must operate on profit continuously eludes most of Congress, so it continues as unacknowledged that the cost of higher corporate tax rates are passed down to the consumer. A consumer, to remind you, that is already suffering under a harsh economic climate. Currently we are suffering under the highest corporate tax rate in the world. The price of that prohibitive tax is embedded into the cost of every single product we purchase. Either the cost of the product is up, the quality of the product is diminished or the pay of the worker is cut. Any way a corporate tax rate is examined it lowers the purchasing power of the average American citizen. This policy stands opposed to true free market forces, because like any other aspect of our tax code, it is similarly needlessly complex. It was just over a year ago that the news broke showing that GE paid absolutely nothing in Federal taxes. However contradictory it sounds, this does not conflict with the previous point of embedded taxes. To achieve a miraculous zero dollar tax bill, GE aggressively lobbied for tax breaks and subsidies that it could take advantage of. The cost of those high priced lobbying efforts? Bought and paid for by the loyal customers. Think about it this way. One of the universally agreed problems present in Washington D.C. today is the presence and penetration of lobbyists into the inner echelons of government. Now think about how those efforts are paid for by you in purchasing products at the store. The tax code as structured breeds corruption because it is multi-faceted and layered. There is little to no citizen oversight because it is unreasonable to expect any citizen to comb through 70,000+ pages of tax language. The tax code is also constantly shifting in light of these lobbying efforts and the political will of 535 congressional and senatorial voices submitting changes. That is to say nothing of the bloated bureaucracy surrounding the code. Recently it was highlighted; there are more than $1 trillion in tax breaks available to differing groups. There is no realistic, or imaginary, method to decipher how much of your money is given to the federal government in a given year, much less to see what it is spent on. The corporate tax portion of the code is heavily to blame for this opacity.

While the corporate tax component of the tax code drives up the price of products artificially it also has the devastating effect of driving wealth away from the country that produced it. Moody’s recently released a study of corporate offshore holdings and the findings are devastating to any fan of high corporate taxes. Over the past few years we have grown accustomed to the plan from Washington that our economy needs an infusion of cash, in the form of government stimulus, to revitalize it. This plan seems to have had a dubious outcome at the incredible expense of rapidly increasing government debt. There does exist a way to infuse at least $1.24 trillion into the economy with zero government expense. Eliminate the corporate tax. Standing at a punishing 35% it is the highest in the industrialized world. That is the countries of the world that have acknowledged the importance of industry. Somewhere along the way we seemed to have lost the idea. Corporations are keeping billions of dollars offshore, when they could be investing in America and the promise we show. It has rarely been a losing proposition to invest in the best trained work environment on the planet, until the government got greedy. Make no mistake; the money discussed here could make a serious difference, even in a competitive global market. Apple alone is keeping $64 billion offshore due to the crushing weight of America’s corporate tax. Google is keeping 48% of its cash offshore to the tune of $44.6 billion. Two companies are keeping $100 billion out of America to evade an excessive tax. The $1.24 trillion number is from 2011 and is up 3% from the previous year. All of the talk about tax reform and lowered rates is doing nothing to a market frightened by higher taxes. They are taking their money with them overseas and depriving us of much needed help in a time of need. Unfortunately, along with copious amounts of cash, jobs are leaving as well. To use Apple as an example again, they currently employ 700 thousand jobs overseas. Compare that to 47 thousand here at home and the distinction becomes depressingly clear.

We are being duped. The topic of taxes is affixed in our headlights this election season yet a thorough discussion has yet to be had. Our corporate tax system is punitive and prohibitive. It is shaped by the largest players to the detriment of startups everywhere. It is embedded into the cost of products purchased by all Americans disproportionately hurting the middle income earners. It has pushed much needed wealth off of our shores. Removing this biased and overbearing structure will allow the money and jobs to come flooding back to where it belongs. Eliminating the corporate tax code will remove its added weight to our cost structure. Dismantling the corporate tax will foster a more competitive atmosphere for our companies at home and abroad. We can jumpstart our economy without adding a penny to the national debt and by removing the tax cost to our American made products, can go a long way to eliminating the trade deficit. We need a much more robust recovery than the one we are told is happening now. America has life in its economic engines that the world has yet to see. Let us unleash it. Eliminate these corporate detriments and put America back to work. The FairTax is the surest means to accomplish this end. It allows our corporations the freedom they need to open America back up for business. It alleviates years and years of bureaucratic meddling in favor of a return to form of free market capitalism. It dismantles the centrally planned authority inherent in our current system. It is time that Americans rallied around a plan that brings our jobs and money home, frees our businesses to act and gets us back to work. That plan is the FairTax, support it today.

Liberty requires the existence of a crucial member of society. The volunteer. Its absence would have a devastating effect on world history. A volunteer is nothing more than an individual willing to stand up for an idea. It is someone willing to break from the pack and take a step forward when they are needed. The FairTax movement, and a movement it is, could not exist without the tireless efforts of volunteers. America’s founding relied on the strict adherence to the belief that freedom was a cause worth dying for in our earliest volunteers. This brand of individual is represented in our armed forces, in our charities, in our churches, and in our government. Despite the existence of career politicians, there still exist volunteers in an elected capacity. These are the individuals more susceptible to fighting for worthy causes than worrying about reelection. More importantly however, is our swelling grassroots ensemble. Our 50 state-spanning merry band is one of the most active in the nation. Any national candidate worth his salt has heard of the FairTax and is aware of our activism. We must move beyond making them aware and garner their support. We can do so in any number of ways.

The ease in which one can volunteer is deceptively astonishing. It is easy to be intimidated by a national framework of volunteers working in collusion to pass a transformative bill into a law. But the reality is shockingly easy. In this country all it takes for just one citizen to make a difference is the will to act. What we are striving to do is to help the action take a direction and give it a voice. This cohesion creates an amplifying effect giving the actions of a single person a much grander influence. Thereby even simple acts are given a weightier meaning when undertaken. There are simple methods of involvement, such as subscribing to our “FairTax Friday” newsletter at FairTax.org. Join our FairTax groups on Facebook or LinkedIn, or connect with other FairTax activists at FairTaxnation.com All of these options can be done without leaving your chair and provide incredible resources for more information on activity in your area. This information will help facilitate any further involvement. As a national organization our key goal is education. The more people that know about the FairTax the more people support it, our idea sells itself. People are ready to throw out the income tax. People recognize the additional cost burden of the corporate tax. People are weary of the multiple tax aspect of the capital gains tax. We can all see that our current system is unfair in every conceivable way. What most people lack is an alternative. Luckily that is exactly what we offer. We should be taking the opportunity of a politically active year to put the FairTax in front of as many eyes as possible. To that end it would be wise to offer to speak to any local political organization you know. Political organizations or civil groups do fine. Since we would be providing a nonbiased and education based presentation we are perfectly suited to church meetings or other non-affiliated community groups. Our DFW group even spoke to a MENSA meeting. Leave no stone unturned. And do not worry if you have a particular hesitation to public speaking; find a local leader who would be more than happy to help you out.

I understand that asking to join up with another political group might be difficult in an already busy campaign season. If the thought of picking up another banner to fight sounds too tough there are less stressful means of helping that are just as important. As with every political cause, we require donations to help move our message across an active nation. $5 for FairTax is a great way to help the cause with minimal impact on your wallet. One reason that I give in this fashion is because the money donated is sent directly to your state to fund FairTax activities in your own backyard. You can rest assured that the money is being used in such a way as to help you further the FairTax brand at home. One of the reasons we can say we have one of the most heavily researched bills ever to be put in front of the United States Congress is because of your donations. Without the sound economic principles behind this bill and the research to prove it I doubt we could have made it this far.

And there are many opportunities to act within your own backyard. I would first suggest contacting your local Congressman to support the FairTax. The same could go for your Senators as well. If your state is as large as mine or you feel that to be too difficult or out of reach, fear not. We have begun the State Resolution Initiative in an effort to receive affirmation from all 50 states that they will be willing to repeal the 16th Amendment on condition of passing the FairTax. This will be a powerful weapon indeed in convincing Congress of the fortitude in our organization. This will be done at the local level with the help of as many state legislators as we can get. Many of these officials can be found at least once a month at local breakfasts or town halls. They are easily reachable by phone and should be happy to be given the chance to make such a national statement. I am also aware that some find writing easier than cold calling or approaching those in elected positions in person. We need your pen. We need your words. We need them in letters to the editor or more importantly to the members of the House Ways and Means Committee. Our DFW group was fortunate enough to be given audience in Congressman Ralph Hall’s home to discuss the FairTax. During the meeting his top aide gave us advice that we considered invaluable. We asked how a small group could attempt to have an impact beyond our district lines. How could we be heard in the din of Washington lobbyist’s roar? He told us that a hand-written letter to the congressmen’s local office would have more of an impact than a blast fax, email campaign, or even a phone call. So we have added another tab to the website with the contact pages of all members of the Ways and Means Committee. Write away.

I know there are some whose political activity does not begin and end with the FairTax. I am glad to hear it. For those involved with the Republican or Democrat Party please take note. Every four years we activists are given incredible access to the political parties and are able to really make a difference. The political convention process is tailor-made for grassroots group such as ours. Get involved in your party’s convention and vocally support a platform plank supporting the FairTax. If we can get the green light from party officials to support this plan in the form of a platform item then we can target all of those career politicians with much greater ease. This also presents the best chance we have in an election cycle to present the FairTax to the political class to educate and gain even more volunteers. Our system is built on the input of citizens; therefore it is incumbent upon us to give our input, whenever given the chance.

In addition to taking all of these actions it is vital we keep an ear to the ground. Our actions should stir up dialogue. And dialogue in the political world means debate. It is to be expected in a debate of such importance that at times facts will take a back seat to rhetoric. We must remain vigilant against such misinformation and meet it head on. There has been
too much research done to allow mischaracterization. There has been too much work to allow the discussion to be hijacked. My intent is to make the fairtaxcometh Facebook page into a repository of misleading articles and stories. It can be a central area to draw material in which we can refute. It can also be a place to share answers and ideas making us a little stronger learning from the experiences of all.

The difference between our dreams and our destiny is dedication and time. We have shown our dedication and now must prove to others. We have not faltered up to this point and show no sign of bending our iron wills. It reminds me of a speech General Washington gave to his men. At a certain point the young army was disheartened by the inability of Congress to keep its promises and reports of secret meetings reached the General’s ears. He called them to a regular meeting on March 15, 1783 and spoke these words,

“And let me conjure you, in the name of our common country, as you value your own sacred honor, as you respect the rights of humanity, and as you regard the military and national character of America, to express your utmost horror and detestation of the man who wishes, under any specious pretenses, to overturn the liberties of our country, and who wickedly attempts to open the floodgates of civil discord… By thus determining and thus acting, you will pursue the plain and direct road to the attainment of your wishes. You will defeat the insidious design of our enemies, who are compelled to resort from open force to secret artifice. You will give one more distinguished proof of the unexampled patriotism and patient virtue, rising superior to the pressure of the most complicated sufferings. And you will, by the dignity of your conduct, afford occasion for posterity to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited to mankind, “Had this day been wanting, the world had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining.””

His words echo through history to remind us of our goal. We too may tire of the ineptness of Congress but our actions show that we do not lose hope, we do not act without honor, and we do not bend to those seeking to open the floodgates of civil discord. We will not lose focus on the goal we seek to attain and as the lesson taught by General and then President Washington shows, freedom will prevail. We have only to act.

What is the purpose of a grassroots activist in an election year? To take action, with a purposeful and passionate drive not seen in most others, toward a goal that has the opportunity to fundamentally change the relationship between the government and the governed. The most successful vehicle to meet that end is the FairTax. This is a message to those who doubt the political viability of our plan and to those who fear to run on it. This past week Americans For Fair Taxation has made available a peer reviewed study of the 2010 midterm elections. Within it was the analysis of each and every House race that involved the FairTax in one way or another. Their findings are staggering in scope and uplifting in outlook. There is verifiable proof that this is a plan endorsed by the American people and rallied to by the voting public. It is our responsibility to drill this message into every candidate’s head from now until election day, to make known that there exists a tax plan that is not only supported by the American people but will rid us of the biyearly tax rate debates that have a crippling impact on the effectiveness of Congress.

To start explaining the findings of this report we should note that of the 435 House races, 114 had people running that supported the FairTax to some degree. It should be noted already that over a quarter of the races had FairTax representation without the large lobbying army that other causes enjoy. Ours is a grassroots effort that requires the voices of regular Americans to grow and thrive. And thrive we have. The FairTax was classified as a significant issue in 30 of those 114 races. That means in 84 races in which the FairTax was supported, the opposition did not choose to raise an issue with its support. Progress is made when you can convince those that disagree to stop disagreeing publicly. Politicians are keen observers of the wind of public opinion. Most choose not to walk against it. What is of incredible importance is that 29 of the FairTax issue races were run by challengers against an incumbent. Of the 29 challengers, 18 won their race. Thus giving FairTax supporters a 62.1% win ratio against incumbents. That number becomes increasingly staggering when examined against the 14.1% win ratio of all other challengers to incumbents.

It is not my wish to bog you down with numbers and statistics to remember or analyze. However, it is critical to understand the earth shattering political implications of these figures. The FairTax in this last election cycle had the power to erase what is called the incumbent advantage. It is a powerful force in politics and proves a daunting obstacle to any potential challenger. It usually takes extraordinary measures to defeat such a built-in ability to win elections. Sometimes that shows up as an exceptional person running for office that changes the dynamic, other times it is large political shifts across the nation having more to do with party ID than individual stance. This case is different. What we have at our disposal is an idea that has the power to reshape the political landscape and alter the connection we have with our own government. As of today we are subjects to an ever expanding state as it increases its desire and breadth of control. H.R. 25 reverses the political food chain to place citizens indisputably at the top.

Almost as important as supporting the FairTax is defending when attacks and accusations do occur. In the same peer reviewed study of the 29 challengers who ran supporting the FairTax there was analysis of their defense of the plan. In 16 of the races, neither the candidate or grassroots supporters in the area stood up to significant challenges to the plan. Of those 16 races the FairTax candidates won 7. That is a 43.8% win rate. As disappointing as it is to hear it is still higher than the 14.1% suffered by other challengers. However, when the plan enjoyed defense by either the candidate or by activists such as you the win rate was an unbelievable 84.6%. What this should tell you is that we are a force to be reckoned with. When we stand up and speak about this plan we win. It does not get any simpler than that. For the FairTax to pass and the 16th Amendment to be repealed we need 67% of Congress and 75% of the states. We enjoy an 84% win rate when we do our job. This should be an easy task.

How can we judge the success of this idea for the future? We need only to look at the determination of the people supporting it. I look to you. To be clear, those numbers rely upon the activity and coordination of a grassroots apparatus able to reach into congressional districts to answer attacks when they come. We need to have the ability to take the FairTax on the offensive against our current code. When congressional challengers who supported the FairTax ran in a race that did not highlight the FairTax as a campaign issue the win rate was 31.6%. When it was a significant issue the win rate was 62.1%. That means we need to sound the trumpets! We need people to talk, to advocate, to watch for tax debates as they occur. To that end, I have been made a chairperson of a national response team responsible for taking these debates head on. I cannot monitor 435 races on my own. I need your help. Tell me when the FairTax is mentioned, if you know of a candidate who supports it, if there is misinformation or common misconceptions published or spoken. You can reach me at fairtax.jordan@gmail.com and I encourage you to do so. If you would like to join our nationwide team let me know because we have the proof to answer any doubt that when we advocate we win. We can judge the potential political success of the FairTax by the number of wins we accumulate and we dramatically increase that number when we act.

A telling fact about these numbers is that we had 85 congressmen win in November that supported the FairTax in some significant fashion yet we only have 67 sponsors and cosponsors. What that tells us is that the culture of Washington D.C. is very different from the congressional districts represented. It shows us two facts when studied closely. One is that our efforts are not merely required once every two years. We fully recognize that turning campaign promises into public policy takes more than casting a vote. To achieve political gains one must have political will. Which really means perseverance. It also tells us that our support in congress extends farther than the 66 cosponsors we have in the House. We only need to push a little harder in our home districts. Visit www.fairtax.org later on this week to see a sleeker and more user friendly website that will make finding leaders in your area much easier. This has always been a grassroots effort that must be won at the ground level to combat the spending of lobbyists who make a considerable sum on gaming the tax code.

Every campaign and every single election season is nothing more than an ideological war. Candidates use words to express ideas that are opposed by other candidates using words to express ideas. We must not be afraid to enter the fray. We cannot win this fight from the sidelines, to believe so is to forfeit in absentia. In the coming political battles ahead we must remember that information is a valuable asset in politics. We have possibly the most thoroughly researched bill ever to be put before congress. Information is something we have in ample supply; do not be afraid to use it. But even more important to political discourse than information is truth. Truth is that rarest of commodities when defending a tax code that suppresses religious speech, punishes success, molds society to the whims of the bureaucrat, oppresses entrepreneurship, and dictates to the people. Truth is sorely missing from the conversation when defending a tax code that does all of that and more. Shed some light into the proceedings and champion the FairTax. You are not alone in the fight, make sure to tell your favorite FairTax supporting candidate that as well. There is no reason to oppose supporting a plan that has the backing of the American people. Winning an election is much easier than the pundits describe, support a plan that returns power back into the hands in which it belongs, dissolves the IRS, and treats all Americans equal regardless of income. We are there to help with the heavy lifting if you are challenged on the FairTax by your opponent. Support the FairTax today and win tomorrow; that is an axiom we can all get behind.

“The more corrupt the republic, the more numerous the laws.” These wise words written by Tacitus, the Roman statesman and historian so long ago can be used today to aptly describe our tax code. We have covered the extent as to which our tax code has fallen away from its original constitutional purpose and has been used to inch us closer to tyranny. We have also discussed tax alternatives and have settled on one in particular… the FairTax. There is no reason to wait in taking action. We must act this year to move our idea into the national discourse because there is no reason not to and because it has become abundantly clear that our current system is unsustainable. Currently the complexity of the code has led to enough of a disconnect between the government and the people that they have felt comfortable spending a record $5 trillion without even passing a budget to keep themselves accountable. Instead of citizens collectively crying out in anger, we seem to be hamstringed by a constant class warfare that demands that “the rich” pay for government excesses even if they fly in the face of constitutionally limited government. There is a growing demand to fundamentally change our spending processes and I heartily agree with their goal. However, our tax code lends itself to these irresponsible spending binges by insulating the politicians within layers of protective bureaucracy and a thick veil of class war making it difficult to ascertain those responsible and even more difficult to actually gather the people to hold them accountable.

This insulation of Congress is one of the most damaging aspects to our tax code. It has been released recently that there is rampant insider trading taking place within the halls of Congress. The financial records of representatives show a 25% increase to Congressional worth in the worst two years of the recession, 2009-2011. This brings to mind a Latin phrase written by Sallust, a Roman historian, “Alieni appetens, sui profusus”,Greedy for the property of others, extravagant with his own. And make no mistake; what we see from Congress is blatant, unabashed greed. Faced with yet another record deficit at least six members of Congress thought the best course of action was to attack the oil and gas companies and created H.R. 3784, a windfall profits tax targeting a specific industry in an effort to cap their profits. This week the President articulated his support for the removal of $ 4 billion of subsidies aimed at the oil and gas industry. This has no connection to the amount of subsidies going to failing green companies doing nothing but losing jobs. We should be clear; the removal of the $ 4 billion of subsidies, just like the institution of a windfall profits tax, will crush Americans at the pump. If the cost of doing business goes up or the incentive to succeed disappears there is no market check on gas prices. It is simple to understand but leaves one crucial element out. An uncompromising lust for power. That is what Washington brings to the table. Those that will use the power of Congress to engineer society, those who would use the administrative oversight of the executive branch to reward environmental special interest groups leading up to an election year. The end of the production of the Volt is an textbook example to the lack of real market value in the policies of Washington. We need a tax policy that reverses government’s role in our marketplace. One that allows it to defend against violations instead of interfering. We need a tax policy that puts oversight control into the hands of the American people so that when the greedy start to ask for more we can emphatically answer, “No!” and remove them from office.

The tax code itself is a divisive tool used to pit the masses against each other to let the ruling class issue forth edicts that go unnoticed until too late. It has been recently reported yet cannot be overstated that only half of Americans pay into our income tax system. This is the effect, over time, of both parties using the current tax code as a reelection tool. Due to the rising tide of deductions of many sorts, fewer and fewer people are paying into the tax system, yet those same few are expected to foot the bill of the ever expanding “nanny state”. Abraham Lincoln summed up his fear of this situation thusly, “Property is desirable, and is a positive good in the world. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built.” It can only be described as tragic that those words spoken today would be demonized as uncaring, elitist, and out of touch. Every election season we are promised new and trendy “rights”. Very few often stop to wonder whose money will be used to provide these niceties. What we are witnessing is nothing more than purchasing votes with taxpayer dollars. We are being bribed with our own money. The only sad part is how cheaply Americans can be bought nowadays. It was not long ago that a brave Revolutionary politician by the name of Joseph Reed said, “I am not worth purchasing, but such as I am, the King of Great Britain is not rich enough to do it.” The bravery of our founding patriots, those not even household names, has been traded for the tawdry sum that Americans sell themselves for today. This past week saw the most depressing illustration. A witness in a congressional hearing sold herself to the government for the mere price of monthly contraceptives. We are prostituting our liberty for so little value now that it is no wonder why Congress now brushes our wishes aside and, even in the historic wave election of 2010, still enjoyed an 85% reelection rate. Our problems do not reside in congress but with the weapons each congress uses to pilfer our liberty for mundane contentment. We are, as a result, robbed of the freedom to do great things. Crushed under the regulatory weight that deadens our uniquely American spirit. There are not words to describe what we have lost along the way in the name of “progress”.

I cannot express enough the brilliance of our founders in the field of political science. One such philosopher known to them all was John Locke. His influence can be found in many of our founding documents. He wrote about the importance of private property among other things. “Man… hath by nature a power… to preserve his property- that is, his life, liberty, and estate- against the injuries and attempts of other men.”- Second Treatise of Government (1690). He also wrote that men would not submit themselves under government without the protection of their property. The idea was not lost even as late at 1937, when Walter Lippman wrote this, “Private property was the original source of freedom. It is still its main bulwark.” Our current politicians would tell you that the source of freedom is your social security and the right to an abortion. Some others might tell you that it is your ability to worship as you see fit or the protection of a strong military that ensures freedom. None focus on the rights of property because our tax code is built upon the assumption that you have no such right. Again, to reiterate, the 16th Amendment allows for a tax upon income from whatever source derived. There is no nook or cranny the government cannot stick its hand into. There is no hiding from “whatever source derived”. It is an omnipresent hand in your wallet that has a seemingly infinite appetite. Alexander Hamilton wrote in Constitutionalist No. 6, “The genius of liberty reprobates everything arbitrary or discretionary in taxation.” Again we see how far we have fallen in terms of our rights and our liberties.

We are told of the importance of the redistributive aspect of our tax code. Those with much must provide for those with little. In my home state of Texas this applies to our schools in what is called a “Robin Hood” system. This system, like the fabled hero, steals money from school districts that are considered rich to give away to those that are designated poor. It is a microcosm of the foolish programs on a national scale. It is actually dressed up in the story of a fictional character to push the idea that the rich school districts deserve to have their money taken from them at force of law and given to others arbitrarily. The use of the Robin Hood moniker is telling in the thoughts of those that championed the system; they tacitly acknowledged that this was a form of theft. Calling it a Robin Hood system is as foolish as calling a new witness protection program the Roger Rabbit system. It has no merit whatsoever on the aspects of the realities of the law and is only used to obfuscate the truth. It did not and has not met the stated goals here in Texas except to incite class war whenever mentioned. The redistributive model of our tax code is obsolete. Systems like it have been tried and proven ineffective. But there is a solution. We have the ability to throw out the tax code entirely and start over with its polar opposite. It is called the FairTax.

The FairTax peels away that opaque barrier separating us from our elected representatives. By simplifying the tax code and rendering it as transparent as the very air you breathe it puts us in control of how government receives its money and thus how they spend it. It puts everyone in the tax rolls yet ensures we do not pay for necessities with the prebate. It restores our right to our own property by removing the grasp of the IRS. In fact, it dissolves the IRS completely. No longer will we have to answer to the government on what we purchase with our own earned funds, or where we desire to give charitably. It ends the class warfare component to our tax code allowing us to rally together to examine the workings of congress from the standpoint of the citizen.

We are instituting two new projects this week to help us pass such a tax reform. We acknowledge that the job will not be easy and that it must be completed at the ground level. But do not be discouraged, I am not asking you to trumpet it alone; I am asking you to join the team. We are creating a response team dedicated to answering FairTax critics and questions in real time. If a blog, news story, or radio personality misrepresents our idea or mistakes us for something we are not, we want to be able to respond. In addition to correcting mistaken or antagonistic views of the FairTax we want to make it known that Congressional candidates that support us will not do so alone. If you know of a candidate or are a candidate supporting the FairTax in your race please let me know at fairtax.jordan@gmail.com . We are collecting a database so that if attacked you will not have to suffer on your own, we have the answers ready and will be able to help you disseminate them quickly. We are also working on the FairTax answers to current crisis and political problems. That way we can take the FairTax on the offensive to prove it is the only viable solution to our tax problem.

We also recognize that the heart of this tax beast is the 16th Amendment itself. Its threat does not go unanswered. That is why I am starting the State Resolution Initiative. Rolling out this week will be the proposed state resolution provided to all 50 states so that we will have a willing nation ready to repeal it the moment the FairTax is passed. This site will keep track of the movement nationwide as we work in tandem to pass this resolution at the state level in all 50 states. I have spoken before of my desire to make 2012 a banner year for the FairTax. With your help that dream can become reality. We still live in a land that allows such opportunity. We still live in a land that affords us that freedom. We need eyes, ears, voices and feet around the country to help in these two endeavors. A task this monumental cannot be completed by one blogger alone. Our founders created a Continental Army and organized to defeat a reining empire. We have the ability to instantly communicate an equally transmittable idea. Join me and the other FairTax advocates around the country in fighting for our liberty and the country we were promised 236 short years ago. This is a fight we can win but more importantly, it is a fight we cannot afford to lose.